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I tried a new recipe recently instead of trying to save every last ounce of time with tried and true favorites.  Yay!  I have to say that I unfortunately haven’t been in the kitchen as much as I used to and it stinks.  Chris and I have made a pact that once school is over and done with (hopefully soon before my head starts turning in circles), we are going to get back in the kitchen together more often.  It’s just been really tough lately.  Here is a tasty and pretty easy recipe that we both loved!  

Moroccan Chicken with Pistachio Quinoa

Adapted from CookingLight

Yield:  4 servings

Ingredients

Chicken:

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Chicken breasts (about 2 pounds), cut into 8 fairly thin pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cups shallots, diced
• 1 1/3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided
• 6 whole pitted dates, chopped (I used medjools)

Quinoa:

• 2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup toasted pistachios, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare chicken, combine first 9 ingredients in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in flour mixture. Reserve remaining flour mixture.

Heat oil in a large ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on one side. Turn chicken; remove skillet from heat. Combine reserved flour mixture and shallots with 1/3 cup broth and dates; add to skillet.  Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is done.

Remove chicken from skillet. Place skillet over medium heat; stir in remaining broth. Cook to reduce down slightly. Return chicken to pan. Cover; remove pan from heat.

Prepare quinoa while the chicken is cooking, combine 2 cups broth, salt and cumin in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Stir in quinoa, lower heat, cover and cook for approximately 12 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Sprinkle with pistachios and serve with chicken and sauce.

Yum!

This dish had a really great flavor.  It was a little on the sweet side so I’m thinking next time I want to had a little pinch of cayenne too.

Loved the sauce and the chicken was really moist and tender.

Another favorite chicken dish I’ve made recently is pistachio crusted chicken mmmm

Also made some nice balsamic roasted veggies with goat cheese on the side which was fantastic.  The goat cheese got all melty and made it’s own creamy sauce along with the roasted tomatoes.

Assembly line makes it easy 🙂

gotta love the crust!

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I had a nice bike ride on Saturday celebrating the final construction on the RMT (River Mountains Loop) Trail.  It was fun!!

The weather turned a bit nippy on us here, but the skies were gorgeous.  That’s Lake Mead in the background.

It’s a beautiful trail, lots of winding and great views.  Can’t wait till it is officially all completed!

I wasn’t able to get a ride in today due to time constraints (boo!), but there is another crit race next weekend here in town!  I’m really having a hard time finding the motivation to finish my darn thesis.  I did finally get IRB approval though, yay!  I definitely have a time excuse issue because once I get home from work and making dinner, I don’t have any more juice to write.  I just want it to be done with school already so I can focus on other things like my career, wedding, being able to relax and cycling.

The weekend goes by too fast darn it!

What were you up to this weekend?